Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Less than twenty four hours after the first images of the Audi A5 coupe surfaced on the internet, come four more photos revealing its S5 performance sibling. Judging by file name structure and a quick poll of Audi contacts, the photos you see here are most definitely the real thing.

Up until now we’ve known the S5 would be launched either immediately or not far behind the A5, and that the car would likely feature a stepped-up version of Audi’s 4.2 that would include FSI and possibly the new Valvelift technology in order to bump power.

Looking at these few leaked photos, you can see that the S5 boasts a more aggressive front fascia and S-car trademark grey grille. New to an S-car is what appears to be an aluminum segment mounted on the center of the chin spoiler. This could be an optical illusion as the car itself is silver, but the segment appears to be of accenting aluminum and more like elements we’ve seen on the allroad if that is the case.

The front shot of the car also shows, for the first time, the lit LED daytime running lights. Much inspired by those on the R8, the rounded bars of light redefine the shape of the lights when they are activated.

Quad exhaust tips and a corresponding center aluminum segment help further the car at the rear.

Inside, we can see several new design elements. An RS 4-inspired shift knob is similar to the one seen in A5 photos, though it gets white stitching on the steering wheel and shift boot much like the S8 and S6.

The two-material trim style at the belt looks much-inspired by the interior of the A6, so its aluminum and carbon fiber mix are not surprisingly very close in appearance and feel to that of the S6. You can just make out the carbon fiber trim on the center console accent and on the left of the interior photo where it is fitted to the driver’s side door.

A start button on the center console, also seen in the other A5 shots, looks to be replaced with an equivalent silver aluminum version.

As you can see in the S5, the dash-mounted MMI controls are relocated to the center console just below the shifter for cars with Navigation and the optional in-dash CD changer.

So does the surfacing of these photos indicate that the S5 will be at Geneva? With the also-expected intro of the BMW M3, that would be quite a rivalry and quite a Geneva not-to-miss. While one contact earlier suggested this could happen, more recent and likely suggestion is that the car will show up at one of the smaller shows later this Spring.